


Not Everything is Permanent

by Kujo1597



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Abusive Lapis, Abusive Relationships, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Human, Amedot is endgame, Amputee Peridot (Steven Universe), Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Past Lapidot, F/F, Friends to Lovers, How Do I Tag, I mostly write fluff and one couple getting together, Jealousy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Peri has a dog, Possessive Behavior, Rating May Change, Tattoo Artist and Florist AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-03-25 12:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13834056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kujo1597/pseuds/Kujo1597
Summary: After the death of her friend Amethyst decided to get a tattoo in memory of her. She went into the shop not expecting one of the artists there to be really freaking cute. Peridot is this tattoo artist and she found Amethyst very refreshing. The problem is the other tattoo artist working at the shop; a very jealous woman with a huge chip on her shoulder and a rough past.(Heavily spurred on by Raising the Barn and Back to the Kindergarten.)





	1. Chapter 1

With a puff Amethyst let out her breath when she got to the door of a local tattoo shop. 

She thought being so nervous was dumb, she knew people who had tattoos and she’s always been down for just about anything.

But her “party girl” days were behind her.

Vidalia had a son.

Greg had a son.

She had a son, but not technically.

It’s complicated.

And it was time to grow up and stop doing stuff on a whim.

Amethyst opened the door to a brightly lit shop. She expected it to be a bit dingy. Well, the one station was a bit darker than the rest of the shop.

Her eye landed on the blue-haired Indian woman at the front desk. She was completely covered in greyscale tattoos. The one that drew Amethyst’s eye the most was the one on her right arm. A sleeve that depicted a more sinister version of the woman surrounded by raging pillars of water.

Overall this woman looked unfriendly; not intimidating by any means, she just looked like she didn’t like people.

“Hey, how can I help you?” the blue-haired woman said, completely lacking a customer service voice.

“Hi, I’m here to get a tattoo, well duh,” Amethyst glanced away.

“What of?” the woman looked completely uninterested.

“A rose, with a star worked into it somehow,” Amethyst replied.

“Yeah, I don’t do flowers,” Miss Personality turned in her chair then shouted, “Peridot! You have a client!”

“I’m coming,” a mildly annoying, yet somehow cute nasally voice called out from a place Amethyst couldn’t see.

Then a new woman ran out with a slight limp. She was above average in height with a tall blonde mohawk, massively stretched earlobes, a piercing high up on her right ear, and an industrial piercing in her left, and a dark blue ring on her lower lip. Amethyst thought that Peridot was half-Asian but her stunning blue eyes made Amethyst second-guess that.

Peridot didn’t have as many tattoos as her co-worker. She had a sleeve portraying space with a bunch of UFOs done in a cutesy style going down her right arm leading to a green tattoo of an old-school alien head on the back of her hand just above her fingers, all with various rings on them, and on her left was a half-sleeve of a demonic looking meaty skeleton surrounded by lightning.

If it wasn’t for her slightly goofy expression Peridot would’ve looked vaguely intimidating.

“Hi, I’m Peridot,” she offered her hand to Amethyst with a smile that was adorable, even with the sharpened teeth.

“Amethyst,” she smiled back at Peridot. “I hear you do flower tattoos.”

“Yeah, they’re fun. So uh, how about we sit down for a consolation?” 

“Sure,” Amethyst gave Peridot a casual shrug.

The two of them went to the station without the dark blue walls. It was kind of cheery actually with eye-catching art hanging up, including a painting of a green maple leaf.

“Let’s get started,” Peridot’s voice had slipped into a more professional tone. “What do you have in mind for your tattoo?”

“Uh,” Amethyst had a hard time thinking thanks to Peridot being way cuter than she had any right being. “I want a tattoo of a rose, with like, a star worked in it somehow.”

“That’s an interesting idea.” Peridot had picked up a sketchbook and started scribbling in it. “What inspired it?”

“My friend Rose died a few years ago, she liked stars and roses and I thought I’d get something in memory of her, y’know.”

“Oh,” Peridot stopped her scribbling. “My condolences. That is very sweet of you.”

The extremely standard response would have normally made Amethyst roll her eyes and say something super snarky. But Peridot’s expression showed that her words were sincere. 

“Thanks,” Amethyst said with a smile.

“You… you’re welcome,” Peridot quickly looked down, but Amethyst still saw the blush creeping across her face, and no matter how low Peridot ducked her head there was no hiding the redness on her ears. “Do you have a placement in mind?”

“I was thinking my neck.”

Peridot looked up. “Is this your first tattoo?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I work at a flower shop.”

Once again Peridot’s pencil stopped, and this time her forehead creased pulling more attention to the scar on it. “I suggest that you rethink the placement.”

“You have a neck tattoo,” Amethyst pointed out.

“Amethyst, I’m a tattoo artist with extensive body mods and several other tattoos. I could get one on my face and it wouldn’t matter at this point.”

“I guess I get you, but I dunno, I really wanted a neck tattoo.”

Peridot didn’t want any client of hers to have any regrets. “Well Rose was important to you so perhaps you should get it over your heart. Although it wouldn’t be terribly visible there.”

“Your idea of ‘over the heart’ is different from a normal person’s,” a voice boomed from the front of the shop.

“I know,” Peridot hollered back, then returned to her normal speaking voice. “So what drew you to wanting a neck tattoo?”

“They’re cool,” Amethyst replied with a shrug. “I’ve always really liked them.”

“You… have,” Peridot rubbed her own tattoo without thinking.

“But I do kinda get why I shouldn’t get one.”

“In the end it’s your choice but I do think putting it over your heart would be nice.”

“Anything to see my boobs, eh Peri?” Amethyst said with a cheeky little wink.

Which got a very amusing reaction.

Amethyst chuckled, “You’re cute.”

Peridot’s eyes widened momentarily, she smirked. “What part of me could possibly be cute?”

“Oh please, pretty much everything about you is, you’re like a tiny little dog in a big spiked collar.”

“You’re a very interesting individual,” amusement coloured Peridot’s voice. “After talking for a bit have you rethought the location?”

“Hm, yeah, maybe over the heart; you’re right, it is a good spot.”

“Now to clarify, when I say ‘over the heart’ I mean its anatomical location.”

“I don’t think that’ll work. I had heart surgery when I was little so I got a scar there.”

“Good to know. So over your left breast then?”

“Sounds good.”

“We didn’t really discuss other places, this is  _your_  tattoo.”

“I like the idea of a symbol of Rose near my heart. It’s a good idea.”

“I did some sketches while we were talking,” Peridot handed her sketchbook to Amethyst who started flipping through it. “Now I’ll refine them once I have a visual reference for roses. I kind of bullshitted them in those.”

“Man, these look awesome,” Amethyst kept flipping back and forth between two in particular. “I can’t decide.”

“You’ll have a couple days to think about it; I don’t have time to do your tattoo today.”

“Got it, see you then,” Amethyst gave Peridot a casual salute.

“See you then,” Peridot said with a small smile and wave.

 

* * *

 

 

When she came to the shop a few days later Amethyst got a chilly reception from the blue-haired artist.

But Amethyst didn’t really care; she didn’t like her to begin with.

“Hey Amethyst,” Peridot’s greeting lacked vigor and there was a subtle sadness in her eyes.

“Sup Peridot, you doing okay?” Normally Amethyst wouldn’t be so nosey with somebody she barely knew but Happydot was weirdly adorable.

“Oh, um,” Peridot walked up to Amethyst and spoke quietly, turns out she couldn’t whisper, “apparently we were too flirty last time and that’s unprofessional."

The word “apparently” stood out to Amethyst.

“Alright, I’ll try to turn down the charm,” Amethyst just couldn’t help winking. “Don’t want you to get in more shit with your boss.”

Finally Peridot smiled, she glanced towards the front of the shop. “Lapis shouldn’t notice if we aren’t as loud as yesterday.”

“Cool,” some relief entered Amethyst’s body. “So, how we gonna start this thing?”

“First you need to sit down and I’ll show you the final design,” the sadness vanished from Peridot’s eye when she settled into the routine of her job. She handed the finalized design to Amethyst.

“Holy crap,” Amethyst was stunned. “Dude, this kicks ass I can’t wait to have it on my body.”

“I’m glad you like it,” a faint blush made its way onto Peridot’s cheeks. She cleared her throat then put on her gloves. “Now I need you to pull down your top and possibly remove your bra.”

Amethyst did just that and Peridot held the stencil against Amethyst’s chest. “How does this placement seem to you?”

“Looks good,” Amethyst had hesitated.

And Peridot picked up on it. “If something feels off speak up about it. I don’t want you regretting this.”

“Nah, it’s just bigger than I expected.”

“I can make it slightly smaller if you want. But if I shrink it too much then the details will get muddied.”

“You know what, let’s stick to this size. The design’s rad as hell and I’ve always been the ‘go big or go home’ type.”

Peridot smiled fully showing her sharp teeth. “Alright then. I’ll get your clothes protected, you shaved, and then apply the stencil.”

After further verifying the placement and getting everything set up Peridot started applying the tattoo.

“Since this is your first tattoo I’ll have to keep an eye on how the area reacts. I could probably finish in one session but that varies from client to client.”

“Cool,” Amethyst drummed her fingers on her stomach. “So can we chat?”

“Of course, though I might occasionally be too focused to hear you.”

“I’m curious, what was your first tattoo?”

“The sleeve on my right arm, although back then it was just a half-sleeve. I got it extended a few years ago.”

“Figured the cutesy one was your first,” Amethyst couldn't chuckle while needle was in her skin, it had hurt more than she expected, she had a generally high pain tolerance. She spoke when Peridot dipped the needle in ink. “Gotta ask, what’s that on your neck? It looks a little familiar.”

“It’s the save point from one of my favourite games.”

“Oh yeah!” Peridot shot Amethyst a look after her little outburst. “That’s called a memory circle, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Peridot looked both surprised and impressed. “Do you like video games?”

“Used to love ‘em, don’t really got the time anymore. I can’t wait until my kid’s old enough to play, then he can show me some new ones.”

“Huh, you have a son?”

“Sort of,” again, the needle in her chest kept Amethyst from being as expressive as she normally would be. “He’s Rose’s son. Me, his dad, and two of my friends are raising him.”

A kind expression showed on Peridot’s face. “Really, that’s great. I get the feeling he’s in good hands.”

A warm feeling filled Amethyst’s chest. “Thanks.”

The same feeling filled Peridot’s, she suddenly felt bashful. “You’re welcome.”

For the next little bit their conversation had died down. Peridot was focusing on her work and Amethyst couldn’t think of any more topics.

Well, there was one but she didn’t know if it would be a touchy one.

Each time Peridot looked closer at her handiwork Amethyst found herself staring at that curious scar.

“You don’t gotta answer this one,” she decided to bite the bullet. “How’d you get that scar on your forehead?”

“Engineering mishap,” the reply was as if that was the most blasé thing in the universe.

“What kinda mishap?”

“My team used an experimental fuel supply despite all my warnings. Our machine exploded while I was near it,” Peridot wheeled back in her chair then lifted up her shirt. “A piece of shrapnel just barely missed my stomach.” She laughed. “I got pretty lucky that day.”

She wheeled back. “I also have a scar on my chest which is getting in the way of a new tattoo. I’m trying to think of subjects that would be able to work with it.”

“You’ll figure it out,” the fact that Peridot was so casual about her scars put Amethyst at ease. “Besides, you’re young. You’ll have plenty of time to pick something.”

Peridot smiled crookedly. “I’m curious, how old do you think I am?”

Normally a loaded question but Peridot didn’t seem the type who would get insulted by a high number.

“Well, you have some faint laugh lines so I’m guessing you’re in your mid-twenties.”

“Close, I’m thirty.”

“No way,” Amethyst said in a joking tone. “Pfffft, but whatever, that’s still young.”

“The last person I told my age to immediately said, ‘wow, you’re way older than me’ which made me laugh. That was the first time that happened too.”

“I’d laugh too but you’re sticking me right now," Amethyst said through gritted teeth. "Anyway, I remember the first time I got that reaction. It was hilarious.”

Amethyst had expected Peridot to ask her age but the tattoo artist’s conversational skills were a bit odd.

“Now do me,” she pointed at herself.

“I beg your pardon,” Peridot looked as if Amethyst just asked her to make out right there and then.

Which made Amethyst chuckle. “I mean guess my age. But good luck, fat fills out wrinkles.”

“Interesting, so you must be older than me then,” Peridot fiddled with her lip ring in thought. “But I refuse to believe that you’re old enough to wrinkle. Soooo…. I’m guessing thirty-four.”

“Ha, you’re sweet. I just turned forty.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have ever guessed,” Peridot sighed with satisfaction then stretched out. The time just flew by “Okay, I’m done the lines and shading. We  _can_  finish today but only if you’re up for doing this for another hour or so.”

“I should be able to,” Amethyst also stretched out. “But would it be cool if I walked around a bit?”

“Yeah I need to walk around myself,” a quick glance towards the front of the shop. “Would you like to swing by the coffee shop with me? Though I recommend against caffeine until I’m done your tattoo.”

“I avoid it anyway, gotta be heart smart, y’know.”

“Ah yes,” Peridot nodded. “So… are we going together?”

“Yep.”

 

* * *

 

 

The coffee shop was only a block away so they quickly returned with their drinks; tea for Peridot and lemonade for Amethyst.

“I always find their lemonade too sweet,” Peridot absentmindedly stated as she watched Amethyst take a sip.

“I can see that, but I like sickeningly sweet crap,” Amethyst put her drink down. “We gonna start back up?”

“Sure,” Peridot replied with a shrug then put down her own drink. “You know the procedure.”

Amethyst got back into position and Peridot got back to work.

“I’m so happy with how this is turning out,” pride was obvious in Peridot’s voice. “I hope you’ll like it too.”

“From what I’ve seen it looks great.”

“Glad to hear it.”

During the rest of the process Peridot and Amethyst talked about cheesy sitcoms, terrible reality TV shows, and movies so bad that they’re funny.

They had a lot more in common than either of them expected.

That was the most genuinely happy either had been in a long time.

“You know,” Peridot had second thoughts about what she was about to say. “I think I might’ve seen you at your work.”

“That so? I never seen you before.”

“I’ve never gone in. I doubt I’d be terribly welcome.”

“Pearl might give you some looks but I’ll welcome you,” for once Amethyst felt bashful. “You should come in sometime.”

“Maybe I will,” Peridot said with a nod.

Amethyst chewed her lip. “And maybe we could hit the arcade together sometime. Or just hang out and do other things.”

“I’d like that,” Peridot straightened out with a smile. She wiped Amethyst’s chest. “Well, I think I’d call this one done.”

“Sweet,” the quick inspection was promising. “Looks cool.”

“The redness will fade as it heals,” Peridot gave the standard speech about caring for your new tattoo, don’t go out in the sun, keep it clean, don’t pick it, expect a little dried blood, ect… ect… Then she showed her hard work to Amethyst in a mirror.

“Dude, fuck,” words failed Amethyst. “This is so awesome! Thanks man.” She hugged Peridot without even thinking.

To Amethyst’s surprise Peridot returned the hug. “You’re welcome. I’m happy that you’re happy with it.” 

“You’re the best,” Amethyst ended the hug and let Peridot put wrapping over her tattoo.

Peridot let out a shy little laugh. “After it heals I’d like you to come back so I can take a good picture of it for my portfolio.”

“‘Course, you should be proud.”

“I am, I think this is some of my best work.”

“Alright, I should get going; got a kid to take care of.”

“Okay, it was a pleasure working with you,” Peridot offered her hand.

“Yeah, and thanks again,” Amethyst took the hand. “But before I go we should exchange numbers.”

“Absolutely,” Peridot tried and failed to seem casual about it.

After the numbers were exchanged Amethyst went to the front desk and left Peridot a generous tip.

She waved before leaving the shop making sure to do it more towards Peridot than Lapis.


	2. Chapter 2

“You’re such a dick,” Amethyst said with a chuckle then bumped Peridot with her shoulder.

“What do you mean?” Peridot asked, trying to sound innocent.

“You know what I mean, that shit-eating grin says it all.”

Peridot laughed. “I’m not doing anything, it’s not my fault that I have wide hips.”

“Pffft, you don’t need to shimmy and sway  _that_  much playing Meat Beat Mania.”

Not that Amethyst actually minded, Peridot’s hips  _were_  pretty fantastic.

“That’s how I get into it,” Peridot gently hip-checked Amethyst.

“Sure it is, buddy,” Amethyst elbowed Peridot in the stomach causing her to laugh heartily.

The rest of the morning was spent playing Meat Beat Mania.

They stopped to drink and eat snacks.

“So Peri,” Amethyst popped open her bag of chips, “how about we get some pizza after this?”

“I kind of wish you suggested that sooner; I just opened my pretzels,” Peridot kind of looked like she was pouting.

“Sorry ‘bout that, I just realized the time, so…” Amethyst prompted Peridot for an answer.

“Oh, right, pizza, ummm,” Peridot pulled out her phone and let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief. “Yeah, I can do pizza.”

“Making sure Lapis doesn’t need you at the shop?” that had become normal behaviour for Peridot. At first she and Amethyst could only spend a couple hours together at a time.

Which Amethyst found kind of odd but the tattoo shop was Peridot’s livelihood.

So was the flower shop for Amethyst, but at least she got days off. Pearl could handle it on her own.

Did Peridot not get time off?

Not that it  _really_  mattered since Peridot did get to hang out regardless.

“Amethyst?” Peridot snapped her mind back to reality. “When were we going to get pizza?”

“Right now if you want,” Amethyst replied. She had debated asking Peridot about her work schedule.

“Alright,” Peridot nodded then she folded her pretzel bag shut in a very specific way to keep it somewhat sealed.

“Huh, well I guess she did used to be an engineer,” Amethyst thought with amusement.

The two of them then got up and left.

During the walk to Fish Stew Pizza Amethyst couldn’t help noticing that her and Peridot were turning some heads. Peridot didn’t often go to the boardwalk and tourist season was over. So she wasn’t terribly surprised by things. Peridot  _was_ wearing a tank top which fully showed all her tattoos and her mohawk was as impressive as the day Amethyst met her. All the skull-shaped rings probably didn’t help either…

Then there was Amethyst. In her simple purple t-shirt and blue jeans. She didn’t even have her purple hair anymore, she stopped dying it to look more mature when her, Pearl, and Garnet started taking care of Steven. The only thing that made her even remotely stand out was her cleft lip.

Her and Peridot were kind of an odd couple at a glance.

Though they weren’t actually a couple…

Just two friends hanging out.

Trying not to think about kissing a tall punk crush.

Wait.

“You’ve been kind of spacey today,” Peridot pointed out with zero subtlety.

“Sorry ‘bout that, tired, y’know,” Amethyst lied.

“Oh, I get that,” Peridot was completely oblivious, “there are nights where I stay up really late working on designs.”

“I bet, oh and you gotta show me more of your art by the way.”

“Sure, although it’s all on my Rumbld account.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same as seeing it in person,” honestly, Amethyst mostly just wanted to see Peridot’s face light up as she talked about her work.

“That’s true,” Peridot smiled. “You seem to have a keen interest. Do you do anything artistic?”

“Nah, I have a friend that paints really amazing stuff,” Amethyst chuckled and pointed at herself. “I’ve actually modeled for her.”

“You have,” Peridot looked quite happy. “That’s awesome!”

“Maybe I can model for you sometime,” Amethyst said with a flirtatious wink.

Unfortunately Peridot’s face didn’t turn red like Amethyst had expected.

“If you want, I think drawing you would be good practice.”

Bleh, leave it to an actual professional artist to take the fun out of modeling in just your bra and briefs.

Amethyst had heard that figure drawing wasn’t sexy.

“Oh,”  ** _there_**  was the blush. “I think we might not have been on the same page.”

“It’s cool,” Amethyst chortled. “But seriously dude, I miss modeling.”

“Why’d you stop?”

“Vidalia has a son, I have a son, our schedules just haven’t been working out.”

“That’s a shame.”

More of Peridot’s well-meaning bluntness.

“Yeah, but that’s part of growing up; you and your friends are busy.”

“I don’t know what Vidalia does for a living but perhaps you can arrange to be on holidays at the same time. And depending on your respective sons’ ages you can also do a little playdate.”

Peridot still occasionally stunned Amethyst with how much she could say in one breath and also the unique and proper way she spoke.

“Huh… that sounds like a really good idea,” Amethyst had thought about it for a second. “Steven’s four and Sour Cream’s twelve… I think. It’s hard to keep track.”

“So there’s a bit of an age difference then.”

“Sour Cream’s a good kid and it’s not like they’d be left totally alone,” the more she thought about it, the more Amethyst liked the idea. “You know what, this is pretty doable. Good idea Peri!”

“Thank you,” puzzlement was apparent on Peridot’s face. “A quick question. Is Vidalia’s son actually named that?”

“Heh yep, but I can’t remember why she named him that.”

“She was probably hungry,” Peridot said with a shrug. Then she thought about it for a bit. “Actually… it could be due to tradition. On my mom’s side of the family everybody’s named after a colour.”

The conversation paused as Peridot opened the door to Fish Stew pizza.

“Thanks,” Amethyst said. “And I never heard of a colour called peridot.”

Peridot softly laughed. “It’s not. My birth name is Grün which is the German word for green. I changed my name as soon as I legally could.”

“Isn’t Grün that guy from Despicable Me?”

“That’s Gru,” Peridot said with a giggle as she took her seat.

Amethyst sat down too. “Close enough, either way, Peridot’s a much nicer name than Grün.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” a faint blush coloured Peridot’s cheeks. “So does your family have any naming traditions?”

“Beats me, I don’t really know my birth family.”

Peridot wasn’t sure what to say. “Hm.”

“Don’t sweat it Peri, I don’t know my birth family but I have a great adoptive one, and there’s Steven, Garnet, and Pearl,” Amethyst shrugged. “Sometimes you find family and family finds you.”

Peridot smiled warmly. “That’s really nice.”

“Nah, it’s nothing,” Amethyst turned so that the side with the bangs were facing Peridot.

The reason for this wasn’t lost on her.

But for once, she didn’t say anything.

“What pizza and drink do you want?” Kofi had walked up to Peridot and Amethyst’s table. He gave Peridot a bit of a look.

“I guess I’ll have a couple slices of meat lover’s,” Peridot replied after mulling over the menu some more. “And a cola.”

“That’s it?” Amethyst asked with a raised eyebrow. “Dude, you gotta eat more than that.”

“I usually just eat a muffin or wrap for lunch.

“You and Pearl both, so tall but you hardly eat.”

“I’m really not that tall.”

Kofi loudly cleared his throat and repeated himself impatiently. “What pizza and drink do you want?”

“Just give me a small Hawaiian pizza and a sprite,” Amethyst answered the question.

“Do you want your usual additions?” Kofi asked with a sigh.

“You know it.”

“I will be back in a minute.”

Kofi turned on his heel and left.

Peridot couldn’t help herself, she was curious. “What additions do you get on your pizza?”

“Onion, olives, bacon, anchovies, banana peppers, sausage, aaaaannnnnd pepperoni,” Amethyst listed it all on her fingers stunning Peridot in the process. She chuckled. “I guess it’s not really a Hawaiian pizza at that point.”

“You can do that?”

Amethyst smiled fondly. “Me and Kofi go way back. I helped his family when they moved to Beach City and his wife’s a model so she’s not home too much. His mom, Nanafua, is pretty energetic but even she needed help babysitting the twins. So I helped her out.”

“You’re really amazing,” Peridot’s expression was soft.

“That’s just what neighbours do,” Amethyst tried to brush off the compliment.

“I grew up in a… well, not large city, but a decently big city. I’m not really used to neighbours helping neighbours like that.”

“I heard cities were like that. I grew up in a small town so I’ve never known any different.”

“I have to admit, I am a bit envious. It’d be nice to know that I can rely on my neighbour if there ever was an emergency.”

“Never too late to get to know your neighbours.”

Peridot gave it some consideration. “Well, I have lived there long enough for them to know I’m not about to burgle them.”

Amethyst laughed. “Ah c’mon, you’re  _maybe_  a teeny-tiny bit scary looking. But you definitely don’t look like a criminal.”

“Hm, I think Kofi would disagree with that assessment,” Peridot said jokingly.

“That’s Kofi for ya, he was born with a bad case of stink-eye.”

“No, I only am suspicious of punks and criminals,” Kofi’s voice cut in. “When we met you fit the bill, Amethyst. But I was desperate.”

“But you grew to love me,” Amethyst teased him.

“Not in the slightest, you are just my best customer,” Kofi’s face showed amusement. “Now eat this abomination of a pizza you ordered.” He placed the pizzas on the table. “And get out of my restaurant.”

“Love ya too Kofi,” Amethyst called after him as he walked away. “He’s so fun to tease.”

Peridot looked a little lost.

“It’s just some good-natured ribbing; I do that with all my friends,” that’s never had to be explained before, she found herself wondering if Peridot’s never had any friends before.

“Huh, I actually didn’t realize,” Peridot cracked a smile. “That explains a lot.”

“Geeze man, for an egghead you’re sure slow to catch on.”

Just as Peridot started to giggle her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and read the text.

[Come home.]

She sighed and put away her phone.

“Was it that long already?” Peridot thought.

“Lapis need help?”

For a moment Peridot had forgotten she was with Amethyst.

“Yeah, she needs me right now,” Peridot lied. “So unfortunately that’s it for today. I had fun, goo-“

“-Do you really gotta leave right this second?” Amethyst interrupted Peridot. “You just got your food.”

“As sad as it is, I have to go right now. So goodbye Amethyst.”

“Yeah, bye,” the fact that Peridot couldn’t even eat lunch ticked Amethyst off.

After ordering a slice of vegetarian pizza and asking Kofi to put everything in a doggy-bag Peridot left.

 

* * *

 

Peridot put her keys in the bowl near the door and at that sound her pomeranian ran up to her.

She crouched down and pet the dog. “Hey Pumpkin. Were you a good girl while I was away?”

Pumpkin wagged her tail.

“Why do I even ask? You’re always a good girl.”

“There you are,” Lapis leaned on the doorway with her arms crossed.

“Hi Lapis,” Peridot greeted her with a big grin.

“What’d you guys do today?”

“Oh we just played some arcade games then went to the local pizzeria,” Peridot waved the doggy-bag. “I brought home a slice for you.”

“Thanks,” Lapis walked up to Peridot and leaned in. “I missed you.”

Lapis tilted Peridot’s head up then kissed her on the lips.

“Did you miss me?” she asked after ending the kiss.

“Yes, of course,” something deep inside Peridot knew that wasn’t true.

As she forgot about Lapis because she was having so much fun.

Which she felt wasn’t good since they were a couple.

“I’m surprised you’re home,” Peridot approached the subject delicately.

“We have no appointments today and something told me that nobody’ll show up either.”

Peridot  _had_  wanted to point out that somebody should be at the shop at all times just as a precaution. But Lapis’ mood hasn’t been the best ever since Peridot and Amethyst had started spending time together.

Although it did seem fine at the moment…

So Peridot decided to bite the bullet.

“I think I’ll head to the shop after lunch. You never know.”

“Sure, call me if anybody comes,” Lapis’ expression was cold.

“Will do.” 

That went well.

“You wanna watch Camp Pining Hearts with me?”

“Absolutely!” Peridot replied enthusiastically. “What season are we on?”

“Five.”

“That one’s such trash!”

“Don’t I know it.”

 

* * *

 

After lunch and a few episodes of Camp Pining Hearts Peridot found herself sitting in the tattoo shop bored out of her mind.

She tapped her pencil on the counter while both waiting for clients and trying to think of ring and pin ideas.

Peridot kind of wanted to branch out from the usual skulls.

Those are cool and all but variety is the spice of life.

Without thinking she had doodled a very cute flower ring.

It made her smile.

But Lapis wouldn’t approve; Peridot had to maintain a certain image to keep interest in the shop up.

“Well I could always put it on after leaving the house.”

“That would be dishonest,” a voice in the back of her mind said.

Lapis hated dishonesty more than anything else.

A groan as Peridot pocketed the sketch.

She started up a new one that was a subtle reference to Camp Pining Hearts.

At least Lapis liked that show so maybe she’d let that one slide.

It wasn’t uncommon for Peridot to reflect on her relationship with Lapis while she was bored and alone.

Sometimes those thoughts were concerning.

Such as how she couldn’t be her snarky self.

How she had to carefully weigh whether or not to say things and having a list of topics to avoid.

Losing touch with her old friends and colleagues…

But it wasn’t all bad.

Lapis did have a sense of humour, sometimes it was a bit dark for Peridot’s tastes; but different strokes.

They had arts and crafts to enjoy together.

A tattoo shop that was moderately successful.

And Pumpkin! Peridot wouldn’t have Pumpkin if it wasn’t for Lapis.

It’s not like people never changed for those they loved.

Some just change more than others.

Amethyst came to Peridot’s mind.

Somebody who liked Peridot for Peridot.

Earlier in the day Peridot had so much fun and she could be a bit of an ass and Amethyst was an ass back.

It was nice.

Refreshing.

Peridot shook her head when she started to entertain the idea of asking Amethyst out on a date.

She made a commitment to Lapis.

Through thick and thin.

Forever.


	3. Chapter 3

Amethyst picked up her phone with a smile. She found Peridot’s name in her contacts list then she tapped it and excitedly listened to the dial tone.

It took a while for somebody to answer.

“Hey!” Amethyst said. “How are you doing today?”

_“Meh,” the voice on the other end wasn’t Peridot._

After a bit Amethyst realized who it was.

Ugh.

“Oh hi Lapis,” might as well try to be civil. “Is Peridot there?”

_“No.”_

Great.

“Well when she gets back can you have her call me?”

_“We’ll see.”_

That didn’t bode well…

And it made Amethyst dislike Lapis even more.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ugh, Pearl, it’s been two weeks since I last talked to Peridot,” Amethyst complained as she rearranged a display. “Her phone never gets answered and the super rare time it does, it’s fucking Lapis.”

“Amethyst, watch your language while at work,” Pearl scolded her. “Besides, it’s for the best. You really shouldn’t be trapesing about with some punk.”

“She isn’t ‘some punk’ she’s way more than that,” they have had this conversation before. “Honestly, I think that if you gave her a shot then you’d actually like her.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Peeeeaaaarrrrlllll,” Amethyst whined. “You never get to know my friends.”

“You’ve never gotten to know mine either.

“Wait, you have friends?”

“Of course I do,” Pearl didn’t fully sell that fact. “We just mostly keep in touch on Faceplace.”

“See, I keep it real and hang out with my friends in person,” then Amethyst remembered what she was just so upset about. “EXCEPT FOR PERIDOT!”

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Pearl rolled her eyes. “Just message her on Rumbld.”

“She hasn’t been on there! Haven’t you been listening?!”

“Honestly, I started to tune you out after the third time you’ve complained about her.”

“You think something might’ve happened to her?”

“No, because if it did then Lapis would have told you.”

“Lapis doesn’t exactly like me.”

“Even so, she would have said something so you’d stop calling.”

“I guess,” Amethyst crossed her arms and tapped her toe. “If Peridot stopped liking me then I wish she’d at least tell me to my face.”

The door opened to the flower shop as if on cue. Amethyst looked towards it and saw a familiar heavily tattooed mohawked individual.

Amethyst moodily turned back around.

“Hello, welcome to our store, I’m Pearl,” she tutted Amethyst before greeting the customer.

But Peridot was too focused on what to say to Amethyst to pay Pearl any mind.

She swallowed, “hey Amethyst.”

“Yeah, hey,” Amethyst didn’t turn.

“So yesterday I found out that you’ve been phoning me.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Lapis lost her phone so she’s been using mine.”

That lie was transparent. “Sure she did.”

Peridot sighed. “I know, I should have made a better effort to get in contact with you and explain the situation,” she pulled a crappy little phone out of her messenger bag. “I picked up a cheap phone so we can talk again.”

This got Amethyst to turn around. “Really?”

“Yeah, Lapis will find her phone eventually,” Peridot kept up with her lie. “Until then we can text and I’m done with my little break from Rumbld. Sometimes it’s good to step away for a little bit, y’know.”

“Why didn’t you lend _that_ phone to Lapis?” that came out a bit snippish but Amethyst couldn’t care less.

“She needs her apps and web browser, you’ve been to the shop; you’ve seen her phone on the counter. Lapis is never not on that thing.”

Peridot was actually making some sort of sense. But something about her eyes prevented Amethyst from believing her.

But for the time being, Amethyst decided to give Peridot another chance.

“Alright, so,” Amethyst gathered her thoughts, “we haven’t talked in a while so how about we go to a coffee shop to catch up?”

“That sounds great,” Peridot replied. “Oh, but not today. We’re kind of busy.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Amethyst waved Peridot off. “I’m busy too. Tomorrow’s the weekend, how about then?”

“Sure,” Peridot’s reply was a lot faster than Amethyst expected. Then she blushed and tried to play it cool. “The weekend should work. There’s not usually a ton of people in Beach City getting tattoos, y’know.”

Of course “playing it cool” just made Peridot look like an even bigger dork.

Amethyst held back a chuckle as she was reminded of what drew her to Peridot in the first place.

The fact that she’s a huge fucking dweeb.

“Amethyst, stop slacking,” Pearl’s harsh tone killed the mood.

“Fine,” Amethyst rolled her eyes.

“Don’t give me attitude.”

“So what’s your new number?” Amethyst asked, ignoring Pearl.

“Oh, right, it’s (301) 555-8901.”

“Peri, you gotta say it slower, this screen’s tiny.”

“Sure,” Peridot repeated her phone number.

“Cool, got it,” Amethyst smiled. “Well, talk to you later.”

“Uh, yeah, later,” Peridot smiled back.

Then she left.

“You got over things fast,” Pearl stated tactlessly.

“Can you blame me? She’s like, _stupidly_ my type.”

“And that’s why I worry.”

“You just met her and you gotta admit it, she’s not the reckless good-for-nothing punk you thought she was.”

“I didn’t talk to her so I’m still not sure about her.”

“Whatever.”

Amethyst wasn’t sure why she was trying so hard to convince Pearl to give Peridot a chance.

Especially considering that she, herself had her doubts.

The rest of the day went as normal. It wasn’t Mother’s Day or anything so the shop wasn’t very busy.

Which Amethyst appreciated; she was focused on Peridot.

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing Amethyst wanted to do after getting home from work was kick off her shoes.

So she did.

The second thing she wanted to do was put on a ratty old tanktop and sweat pants then veg out on the couch.

The one required some walking.

“Oh Amethyst,” Pearl started, “don’t forget to pick Steven up from his father’s.”

“Alright,” Amethyst said with a sigh. “Just let me change first.”

“When are you going to get over it?” Amethyst thought bitterly. She didn’t really want to see Greg either.

“Tell Greg I said hi,” Pearl said purely as a courtesy.

“Will do.”

After changing Amethyst got into her car and drove off to the car wash which wasn’t too far away; she parked at It’s a Wash and slumped in her seat. After mentally preparing herself she got out.

“Aaaaaaammmmmeeeetttthhhhyyyyyyyysssttt!”

Hearing Steven shout her name so energetically put a smile on Amethyst’s face.

“Hey Ste-man,” Amethyst picked him up and gave him a hug. “You have fun with your dad?”

“Yeah,” Steven replied with a grin. “Nobody came here so we so me and dad played hide-and-seek. And we ate ummm…” Steven put his finger to his chin in thought. “A waffle sandwich. Then we watched Crying Breakfast Friends, and, and,”

Steven’s listing of activities came to a halt as he bounced in up and down in Amethyst’s arms. 

“Sounds like you had a good time,” Amethyst said with a fond chuckle. She quickly debated stepping away before-

“Hey Amethyst.”

-Greg saw her.

“Oh, hi Greg,” Amethyst greeted him with a forced smile.

“How are you doing?” Greg asked.

“Good, you?”

“Pretty good, things were a bit slow today so I had fun with my little Schtu-ball. How about you?”

“Same as usual.”

“I heard you and your friend haven’t been talking lately. Everything alright with you?”

Greg’s question struck a nerve.

“Why do you care?” Amethyst thought.

“Yeah, her roommate lost her phone and was borrowing hers. My friend came by the store and we made up.” Amethyst’s reply was curt.

“Really?” Steven happily looked Amethyst in the eyes. “That’s great!”

“That _is_ good to hear,” Greg added to his son’s excitement.

“It is kinda great that we made up,” Amethyst said, mainly to Steven. Then she turned her head back towards Greg. “Well, we better get going. Pearl probably started making dinner by now and you know how she can be.”

“Sure, bye Amethyst,” Greg waved at her then ruffled Steven’s hair, “and bye Steve-O.”

“Bye dad,” Steven hugged him.

“Seeya Greg,” Amethyst turned and left.

 

* * *

 

 

“Peeeeaaarrrrl,” Steven ran up to her and gave her a big hug around the hips.

“Hello Steven,” a small smile graced Pearl’s lips. “Did you enjoy your day?”

Steven rambled about his day to Pearl as Amethyst got drinks for herself and Steven.

“Here ya go buddy,” Amethyst handed him a juice.

“Thanks Amethyst,” Steven took a sip of his drink.

“Don’t mention it little man,” Amethyst ruffled Steven’s hair.

Steven happily skipped off, juice box in hand.

“How’s Greg?” Pearl asked.

“Same as usual, I guess,” Amethyst replied with a shrug. “He’s got a bit balder since you last saw him.”

Pearl chuckled lightly.

“You know, maybe you should pick Steven up from Greg’s someday.”

“I don’t know,” Pearl said with a sigh. “I still don’t really want to see him. He took Rose from me.”

“Takes two to tango,” Amethyst muttered.

“I _know_ that. But it’s still difficult. And how about you; you’re still mad at Greg too.”

“Yeah, I am,” Amethyst felt her frustration rising to the surface. “Because that was only last year.”

“That?” Pearl raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not important,” Amethyst rushed out of the kitchen, hiding her eyes behind her hair.

She thought for a second that she heard Pearl say her name.

Amethyst joined Steven who was watching Crying Breakfast Friends. She really didn’t get why Steven liked that show so much. But he was happy and watching TV gave Amethyst a way to get her mind off of things.

Such as the mess with Greg.

And how much of a dirty liar Peridot is.

“No,” Amethyst thought. “I’m giving her another chance. Peridot must have her reasons.”

Amethyst lost herself in colourful cartoons with her son.

 

* * *

 

 

When Amethyst woke up she had no idea when she fell asleep or how she got in her bed.

“Probably Garnet,” Amethyst figured.

She looked at her clock.

2AM, gross.

With a groan Amethyst got out of bed and changed into her pajamas then used the bathroom.

Amethyst lied in bed, her thoughts stirring.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Peridot.

Her bright eyes.

Cool hair and tattoos.

The piercings and body mods.

Her cute personality.

And most importantly, that smile which was somehow both radiant and extremely dorky.

That smile stuck in Amethyst’s mind.

“Fuck me,” she groaned into her pillow. “What am I? A high schooler? Ugh, and I know she’s a liar but I just really want to date her.”

Before falling asleep Amethyst decided to give things some serious thought.

“I could always ask her out. But then again, I don’t even know if she’s single. She’s queer, I know that. So I need to ask if she’s seeing anybody.”

Amethyst liked the sound of that.

“Yeah, I’ll do it tomorrow,” she mumbled into her pillow.

Then she closed her eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

“Fucking fuck,” Amethyst said with a yawn as she sat down across from Peridot in the coffee shop. It was a different one from their usual, a lot farther away. But the drinks there were much better.

“What’s wrong?” Peridot asked.

“Got no sleep dude,” Amethyst replied. “Too much going through my head.”

“That’s a shame,” Peridot stirred her coffee with a frown. “I had some trouble sleeping too.”

Amethyst’s heart sped up.

“Was she thinking about the same thing as me?” Amethyst thought, then she swore at herself mentally.

“To be honest, I’ve been stressed lately,” the stirring stopped and Peridot looked into Amethyst’s eyes apologetically. “But let’s not dwell on that; this is our first time hanging out in a while.”

“Nah, it’s cool, you can gripe.”

“Well,” Peridot didn’t waste a second. “The shop’s been struggling for a while and I do all the budgeting. And Pumpkin’s been sick, I took her to the vet and it’s nothing serious at least. But it’s still stressful because I love her and want nothing bad to ever happen to her. And taking her to the vet cost money because everything does. Long story short, financial issues, am I right?”

“Oh. Yeah, they suck. Pearl handles all the money for home and the flower shop but my health’s kinda shit so I got money problems.”

“So why couldn’t you sleep last night?”

“I was just thinking about stuff we could talk about because like you said, it’s been a while.”

“Well then, what would you like to talk about?”

“Ah well,” Amethyst took a sip of her lemonade. “There are some things I was wondering about you, that’s all.”

Amethyst avoided eye-contact as she had butterflies in her stomach. But Peridot looked her straight in the eye as she asked, “What would you like to know?”

Somehow Amethyst forgot just how blunt Peridot could be, that combined with the eye-contact made Amethyst’s heart skip a beat.

“W-well,” she stammered, then cursed herself, it had been a couple years since her last date, but _come on._ “I was wondering if you’re dating anybody, for one.”

“I haven’t been on a date in years.”

“Sweet!” Amethyst excitedly thought. “Heh, I haven’t dated in a long time either,” she said. “Felt like I should take some time to myself.”

“Hm. It’s good to look after yourself,” that sounded slightly rehearsed.

The mood turned awkward.

“Wanna talk TV?” Amethyst offered, knowing Peridot’s answer.

“Please,” that was the most relieved she ever heard Peridot.

“Steven’s gotten really into Crying Breakfast Friends. Y’ever hear about that one?”

“I have. I’ve actually watched a few episodes while doodling.”

“I don’t get it man.”

“You _are_ five times older than the target demographic,” Peridot said with a quirked eyebrow.

“Bullshit, the target age is like, ten.”

“Isn’t Steven four?”

“Yeah, I think he mostly watches it for the colours. But he’s also emotionally smart.”

“I think the appeal is that at the end of the day the characters all are always there for each other. They help each other with their hardships. It gives the viewer warm fuzzy feelings.” Peridot blushed slightly and took a sip of her coffee. “Or at least that’s my theory.”

Amethyst smirked, “You’ve watched every episode, haven’t you?”

Peridot chuckled. “Yeah, you’ve got me.”

“Good on you. Watch cartoons, watch awful shows, watch whatever you want.”

“There’s a reviewer I subscribe to on TubeTube that always signs out with ‘you don’t stop playing because you got old, you get old because you stop playing. Be a geek, be proud.’”

“You took that to heart, didn’t you?” Amethyst asked with a warm smile.

Peridot laughed. “Nah, I’ve always been a huge geek. All my tattoos except two are nerdy.”

“The ones on your right arm I figured, but I had no idea about that demony-skeleton guy.”

“That’s the Yu-Gi-Oh monster, Summoned Skull.”

“Yu-Gi-Oh’s that one card game, right?”

“Indeed,” Peridot said with a big smile. “I’ve been into it since it came out in Canada. The monster designs are so unique; especially early on,” Peridot checked the time. “Remind me to show you a few some time. I’d do it now but I need to get back to work.”

“Man, you never get any time off, do you? And yeah, I’ll remind you.”

“I’d actually like to hire another artist but Lapis often doesn’t get along with others so finding somebody is proving difficult. So for now, it’s just the two of us.”

The two of them moved on to talking about a reality TV show as they walked out of the coffee shop.

“I’m a lesbian so of course I’m cheering for the cute country girl who’s a welder,” Peridot said then shrugged. “She’s not doing anything in the game though.”

“It’s just that she’s your type.”

“Exactly.”

“Hey Peri?”

“Yeah?”

Amethyst brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I had a really nice time talking to you today.”

“I did too,” Peridot seemed a bit closer than usual. Her lip ring twitched in a way that made Amethyst think she just swallowed.

“So we gotta do this again.”

“Absolutely.”

Okay, yeah, Peridot’s face was definitely getting closer; she was even bent slightly at the waist.

This was Amethyst’s cue, she hadn’t realized just for how long she’s been wanting to kiss Peridot so she closed the small gap.

Amethyst and Peridot’s lips gently caressed each other. In this moment Amethyst was more than aware of Peridot’s piercing. She felt it against her own lower lip.

It wasn’t entirely what Amethyst would have expected but also not overly surprising. When they first were getting to know each other Amethyst would have thought Peridot would tightly grip her by the waist and chin and ravish her.

But no, Peridot was gentler than she looked.

Only a few people were able to know that. And it meant the world to Amethyst.

The kiss ended.

A bit abruptly, in Amethyst’s opinion.

Then she saw the look on Peridot’s face, the way her hand was covering her mouth and the fear in her eyes.

“I…” Peridot wasn’t able to speak.

She rushed off without another word.

Amethyst’s stomach dropped. She clenched her fist without realizing it then she punched a nearby wall.

“Dammit!” She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. “You fucked things up again!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness me this took a while to finish! I had some trouble with inspiration for shippy stuff to be honest. I'm super excited to write the next chapter! I'm always excited to get to aftermath when bad things happen in my fanfics. I'm really hoping the next update won't take as long.


End file.
